Those creative fires 🔥 within. Concepts and ideas that smolder inside you? Where do you draw your inspiration from? Do flashes 🔦 from the past unlock ideas or do you find present day moments spark ⚡️ them? Whether you plan buildings or spaces or photograph them great inspiration is paramount. I grew up with an analog 📷 camera in my hands and saw the world through the vieefinder. I feel so blessed. This was in the time where one could get lost for 10 hours a day. Analog days. The cycle of create, develop, print, examine, rinse, repeat... Exploring the world through found light. I find the simple joy of exploration to be the essential in my compositions today. Less formulas...more discovery. And so...these are my thoughts this Friday morning. I would love to know yours. Please share them 👇 below.
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Doug Walker of Walker Photography in Olympia, Washington was named a Silver Medalist during Professional Photographers of America's 2018 International Photographic Competition (IPC). Walker’s work will be on display at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 20-22, 2019. This International Photographic Exhibit is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention and expo for professional photographers.

A hearty congratulations to Heather Burgess, co-founder of Phillips Burgess Law Firm, a real estate, land use and environmental law firm based in Olympia and Tacoma, on being named ‘2017 Boss of the Year’ by the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce. I had the pleasure of working with them on updating their executive portraiture.

Before/After images of The Campus Lofts & Townhomes following post production artwork.

As an architectural photographer very often the image I desire cannot be created in camera. Living and working in the Pacific Northwest means weather can be 'iffy', and last minute punch-list items often provide obstacles to navigate onsite - and always at the worst possible time. :) So when a client calls with an image need but the project is in that ‘punch-list mode’ and the weather is 'headed South', how do I approach this challenge? Simple. I take charge as usual but make the magic happen with post production artwork!

"The Wacom Pen - mightier than the mouse!"

Creative post production artwork has been an essential step in my workflow since I pressed a Wacom Intuos 5 Medium tablet into service back in 2013. It very quickly changed the way I approach post production and opened up incredible new opportunities I had not even imagined possible including taking my images round trip to the top of the International Photographic Competition stage as a Diamond Photographer of the Year (2015) and Silver Medalist (2016). As a heavy Wacom user I look back and note it did take a bit of time to gain fluency with all the custom settings, keys, shortcuts and setup specific to my artistic vision and workflow. But clearly it is now one of the most important tools in my creative arsenal. Today I cannot imagine working on my images without the finesse and control it provides.

When working an image in post production I move through an image examining each element, ultimately asking that critical question “does it help the image? or hurt it?". If it is a distraction or not. If it is I remove it and rebuild the surrounding elements. There is no formula, and there are always limits. Some complex scenarios are simply too time consuming and beyond the scope of the assignment budget. But no matter what my clients' images always benefit through post capture artwork.

The example above is a classic Before/After image showing the value of post production artwork. It is an image taken of the Campus Lofts and Townhomes, an 'adaptive re-use' project recently completed here in Olympia, Washington for Ron Thomas of Thomas Architecture Studio. Designer and Business Manager of TARCSTUDIO Christine Van Duzer was thrilled upon seeing the results appear before her. She shared this nice comment: "Comparing the images side by side, the difference is simply stunning. The original photo accurately portrays the building, but the enhancements allow you to notice all of the gorgeous architectural details without distraction as the architect intended." Thank you Christine!

I was invited to present an Architectural Photography Workshop at the recent Professional Photographers of Washington Fall Conference held at the beautiful Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington.

As an architectural photographer I always look forward to discovering Art in Architecture that hides in plain sight each project that I photograph. Recently I had the pleasure of working with the great folks at KMB Design Groups on capturing their newly finished Nisqually Public Safety Complex aka 'The Nisqually Jail'.